Let start with the question "What are INDIGO and INDI?" They are platforms for controlling various astro gear under Linux and MacOS like ASCOM is for Windows. Unlike ASCOM in INDIGO / INDI there is a server that communicates with the hardware and client applications that connect to the server in order to use the hardware. The ideology is distributed by design which means that server and client can be on different machines and can talk each other though internet or network.
INDIGO and INDI are independent open source projects developed by different teams, however currently they have good level of compatibility, so application that can talk INDIGO protocol can connect to INDI server and the reverse. Each project has its own advantages, but the most important is that they give another option for remote control of astro gear.
The next logical question is "Why INDIGO / INDI could be interesting for the Windows users?" The answer is the RaspberryPi computer - small and cheap device that can run Linux, has small power consumption and can be used as INDIGO / INDI server. There are commercial devices based on RPi like ZWO ASIAir, QHYCCD StarMaster, StellarMate which are more or less stock RPi computers with added additional software. However every RaspberryPi 3 Model B+ or newer, bought from your favorite store will do the job!
So far so good, one can say :) "But I'm an Windows user and don't want to struggle with Linux!" Here come two solutions - easy to install and pre-configured packages which give you INDIGO or INDI servers running out of the box - INDIGO Sky and Astroberry. The instructions how to flash the images on SD card and to how make the device visible into your network are really simple. If you have a commercial device and want to give a try of INDIGO Sky you can flash a new SD card.
Of course a more advanced user can configure and run INDIGO / INDI server on any Linux or MacOS machine, APT will not see any difference!
Connecting to INDIGO / INDI Server
Once an INDIGO / INDI server is visible in the network you can make connection to it in APT via the INDIGO / INDI button in Gear tab. Required is just to enter the server address, port and to click on the Connect button. See below for more information on the other available configuration options.
Having a connection to the server you can access the available devices using Shift+Click on the corresponding "Connect" button in the Camera or Gear tabs. APT will remember your selections and in next session you have just click on Connect. There is no difference in device use via ASCOM or via INDIGO / INDI. You have the same features set available, same look and feel!
Note: APT can connect to the INDI server of a ZWO ASIAir, QHYCCD StarMaster or StellarMate device, but an INDIGO server can give better performance. Experiment and find which solution works best with your setup.
Status
Shows the status of the connection to INDIGO / INDI server.
This button currently works when the connection is to INDIGO server. It navigates the INDIGO web interface for managing the server. There you can load drivers, update the server, change exotic properties and more. Required is installed browser Chrome or Chromium.
Connects/Disconnects APT to an INDIGO / INDI server. Detailed information about the process is displayed in the Log panel. Once you see that "server is ready to use" you can connect to the available devices.
When enabled the INDIGO / INDI communication library will create a detailed log file (separate from the APT log) per every session. Use this only in case of problem because the log files could become quite big.
